Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1887-01-22
A PARIS SCHOOL.
laD rss ADvsxrUsss OF rwo AwRs.
lOAE BUYs rHsRsrR,
1hs Discipline and system Of the Gtea, Lycee
- rar's where i,soo French L.ds WORK
snd Live Their osmss and Other GU.
scms-now Americans are Regarded.

OF mo iNfsLLtoENCRR
In the days Of the empire, when the
repch still held the name of the greatest
Military nation OF the world, and the most
rogrcssive In the arts and sciences, the first
chool OF Paris was the Lycee Imperial Bon.
parte.
Two Pennsylvania boys who had fought
led and lied for their country In English
chools on the continent, stood before the
vide arched " sally-port! which formed the
ront door Of the school, surveyed with dire
orebodings the long, blank wall of time
tAined granite, and voted 1t a gloomy old
prison.
The gates were swung open by man with
! battle battered face adorned with the nous
tache and gostee that all military Frenchmen
Affect and through the archway the boys saw
= large open quadrangle, with broad COLON
ade running all around it and high buildings
on all four sides.
The janitor was very polite, particularly
polite when he heard that monsieur and his
two little boys came from America. He had
an uncle in America in la Nouvelle Orleans
Perhaps monsieur had met him or knew
something OF him Monsieur ia Prevot wa.
busy, and he could not see anyone at present,
but 1t was very late and the school would
soon be dismissed, and then the prevo,
would have more leisure There would be
time first to show monsieur the other build
ings, very old, but very well designed
And as the boys followed the voluble jsni-
itor across the saDded court, and under the
porch with its massive stone columns, they
thought 1t looked more like an old chateau
than the school yard of fifteen hundred boys,
for the janitor had said the roll OF students
ran over that figure.
From one corner OF this quadrangle they
passed through a broad hall and emerged
upon another enclosure much larger than
the first but with the columned porch on
two sides only and the open space covered
with well worn grass, and hsvIpg several
lonely trees within It
A peculiar sound, as though several couple
were dancing violent breakdown to the
rattle of coil OF wire, WAS the first sign Of
lie that the visitors had noticed. 1t came
from an open door towards which the jsnitor
ledtthe way. A voice marked time in quick,
sharp tones OF caution or command. Look.
ing In they saw large, lowceiled room,
over the smooth floor Of which were scattered
severel groups OF boys-large boys of fifteen
or thereabouts.
FOIL AND GLOVE.
They were fencing with might and main,
and French youth never appears to better
advantages than when welding the French.
mans favorite weapon, the light foil. Slim
and sinwey, 1.-the and active as younl
tigers, they kept their weapons invisible
with the rapid motion of the gloved righ
hand, and between swift thrust and parry
claimed points on their antagonists or ar
cepted caution and instruction from the
teacher, while their black eyes blszsd with
excitement through the wire masks tha
protected their faces.
The jsnitor led the way quietly back AGAR
70 the gateway, and placing the American,
In his little room In the side of the arch, b,
opened the front gates, took a drum dowr
from the wall, flung II over his shoulde
and posted himself to the right OF the arch
way, with his drum sticks poised and eve,
fixed on the face OF tho CLOCK across tn,
quadrangle. There was not another human
being in sight; every thing was as sileu
and Ill as IL could be in the heart of ,
great city. Suddenly the long roll wa,
Numbered by the old drummer, and the col
onnades and corridors reechoed with tn.
deafening noise but before the first three
taps had sounded the whole place was alive
with mob OF shouting, dancing, running
bowling boys. Boys of all ages and sizes
came rushing across that court yard from all
quarters at once, and the deep archway was
soon packed from wall TO wall with a mass o.
young France. In few minutes they hac
all passed through and silence came again.
Tue next morning the young Americans
We're up at day break, took their coffee anC
roll IN true French style, and tramped of t.
school, which began at eight The gate
were opened and a stream OF boys was pass
: ing IN. A dignihed old gentleman with 4
red button on the lapel OF his coat stood in
the centre of the court yard giving orders il
sharp, clear voice, and the students wer,
forming in.companies under the colonnade
The Americans under direction OF the ianI
tor marched right up to the command erin
chief in the centre, whom they found to bs
the head of the institution.
He sent them to classes at opposite corners
OF the quadrangle and each found himself
among crowd OF anxious boys, talking rap
Idly and all at once. The noise was terrible
and the very little French that our bows
could master did not help them much In
their efforts to explain what they were and
where they came from. 1t may seem iucred.
ible that Intelligent French lads of twelve or
more should insist that the visitors were not
americans because they were not black
Yet such was the lamentable fact, and one
taii yohth was heard TO observe that our boys
could not even be Canadians tor they could
not speak French. All this noise was
Drought 10 sudden stop, and the com pan les
into more regular line, by the heavy roll of
the drum. They were formed in double
lines facing the area, thon at the order OF the
teacher each class was faced right or left
ready to march by twos and above the drum,
ming was heard the voice o! the provost or
dering the classes to march
Our boy, Ned, marched off with his class
tnrough many halls and corridors 10 a school.
room with a score Of low desks, and a hiob
platform on which was the table and chair az
the teacher. -
AN AsroNIsHED TEACHER,
He was questioned closely by the teacher
who appeared to be quite dunn b-founded a,
the ignorance Of matters European displayed
and disgusted with American hand WRITING
"Ihat WAL not do, but you must learn fast
writing like the French it is the English
VINO Write SLOW" And in few weeks the
young American had learned TO write as rap
IN
rades, tor of all writing the French IA the
most rapidly written and most difficult TO
read.
Then In geography the class arose in AZ.
constituent az the discovery that the youno
savage could not name the provinces of
Erahce thongh their atlas which the Amer
lean has yet in his possession, did not shoy
any but the thirteen original states of our
union very family marked on a man n,
North and South America, and Boston. Nav
YORK, Philadelphia, Washington and Nav
Orleans were the only cities shown. whiIs
the entire interior of the continent was
marked I" Louisiana
Az ten O'Clock there was another roll of the
drum and the boys sprang eagerly from their
oesks and formed In line. They marched
psck through the long halls TO the second
court and along the colonnade; Joining other
classes in long procession and passing
through wide doorway into an Immense
dining room
In this room there were four rows OF long
narrow tables, and as each class reached its
s aoe tne double line divided, the boys took
.neir places and at once began Breakfast
Most OF the tables were so crowded maj
,very aiternate bcy was obliged TO 81. close 10
me table and operate knife and fork with his
SHOWS raised, while his nsighbors on either
Ia a'u 90. oack from the table and cut under 1
.ns apIalsea elbows They all used knives
Ano forks OF plated ware stamped with thai
uiuais ana numbers, for every how hau q